New Episode III Tidbits as Shooting Progresses

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Lightsabers, dogfights, Darth Vader, and more.

By Paul Davidson

Production on Star Wars Episode III is over halfway complete, and for those lucky fans who have subscriptions to The Star Wars Insider or Starwars.com's Hyperspace service, information about the new prequel has gone from a trickle to a torrent (well, almost).

Producer Rick McCallum is a frequent source of details, and he no doubt enjoys supplying plenty of grist for the rumor mill. In a Hyperspace chat a few days ago, he revealed that 80 pages of the 129-page script have been shot already, and that production is two days ahead of schedule. Among the details mentioned in the chat:

Three lightsaber duels have already been filmed.

Anakin receives the name Darth Vader in Episode III, along with an explanation of that name.

The film does feature the young twins Luke and Leia.

Jar-Jar Binks does not die.

Palpatine starts using his Dark Side powers.

The film ends on a sad note (perhaps like The Empire Strikes Back).

Episode III is possibly the most visually ambitious because of all the new planets and worlds the story visits.

McCallum also mentioned an underwater fight between Obi-Wan and some droids. Apparently, a large water tank (which could be seen on the Hyperspace webcam) has been built for some of these scenes.

In the latest Star Wars Insider, McCallum hinted that Yoda could be seen on Dagobah by the end of the film. And expect Anakin to lose some more body parts in his journey to the Dark Side.

Other Hyperspace reports include a fascinating look at the filming of a major dogfight sequence, involving both Obi-Wan and Anakin in their respective space fighters. George Lucas was in the thick of things, directing Anakin and the other pilots in their motions and reactions. The sequence includes numerous shots of the droids that plug into the fighters, including Obi-Wan's faithful R4-P17 astromech, which survived Attack of the Clones intact. And he says he doesn't recall owning any droids in A New Hope!